Las Vegas, Nev. - The Nevada Conservatory Theatre at UNLV is pleased to present the classic musical, "The Music Man," May 1-10 in the Judy Bayley Theatre. Directed by Michael Barakiva and choreographed by Broadway's Mimi Quillen, the production features Broadway veterans Patrick Ryan Sullivan as Harold Hill and Teri Bibb as Marian Paroo.
A hit Broadway musical in 1957 and an equally successful Hollywood film in 1962, Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" is about a glib traveling salesman, "Professor" Harold Hill, who descends upon the town of River City, IA, in the weeks just prior to the Fourth of July celebration of 1912. Persuading the populace that the youth of River City is in great danger of being corrupted by the presence of a new pool table, Hill convinces them that their only hope for salvation is the organization of a boy's band, with himself as a leader. Naturally, this will require the parents to shell out good money for band instruments and uniforms, and in exchange, Hill promises to teach the kids how to make music by utilizing his revolutionary "Think System." There's only one problem: Harold Hill is an out-and-out con artist, who doesn't know one note from another. Even so, he manages to win over everybody in town except local librarian/music teacher Marian Paroo and thick-eared Mayor Shinn.
Barakiva graduated from the directing program at The Juilliard School, and has worked as a professional director developing new work and staging classical texts. In New York City, he directed "Save The World: A Superhero Adventure Play" by Chris Kipiniak, "Then" written and performed by the MCC Youth Company, "The Women" by Clare Boothe Luce, "The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov, "Fatwa" by Anuvab Pal, "2B or Not 2B" by Jacquelyn Reingold, "Animal Shelter" by Emily Jenkins, "Bloody Thanksgiving" by Brooke Berman.
Quillen received a BFA from the Boston Conservatory of Music. A native New Yorker, her initial dance training was at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet School, The Joffrey School and Harkness House. Her career took her to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Milwaukee Ballet and Chamber Dancer Theatre directed by William Carter. Quillen moved into the musical theater world under the leadership of Lee Theodore and The American Dance Machine touring the US and Europe. She performed in and assisted Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon on the Broadway revival of "Sweet Charity," starring Debbie Allen. Other Broadway credits include the original company of "Ragtime" and "Ain't Broadway Grand."
Sullivan has appeared in the Broadway productions of "Beauty and the Beast" (Gaston), "Titanic" (Barrett and Farrell), and the revival of "42nd Street" (Julian Marsh), after appearing in the critically acclaimed national tour of the smash musical. Recently, Patrick played several parts in Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's "Auntie Mame" starring Charles Bush and participated in New York Musical Theatre Festival's inaugural season playing D.B. Norton in "Meet John Doe."
Bibb has played the role of Christine in "The Phantom of the Opera" more than 1,000 times on Broadway and with the national tour, singing for both former Presidents Clinton and Bush at command performances at the White House, earning a Helen Hayes Award nomination and a Carbonell Award along the way. She also was on Broadway in the revival of "She Loves Me," where she stood by for and played the role of Amalia. Regionally she played the title role in "Fanny" opposite the late Jos? Ferrer at the Paper Mill Playhouse, and starred in the world premiere of "Songs from the Tall Grass" at the Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Others in the cast include Brooks Asher, Taylor Hanes, John Slocum, Ed Cotton, Dale Roberson, Stu Smith, Tony Blosser, Ryan Fonville, Sherri Brewer, Almog Agron, Logan Linehan, Chase Daniels, Maxime Chaltiel, Gail Romero, Phoenix Toliver, Anna Carothers, Christine de Chavez, Ann Vizzaccero, Jaime Puckett, Marilyn Oster Kaufman, and Val Kolar.
Performances are May 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 at 8 p.m. and May 3 and 10 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20-$30 and on sale at the UNLV Performing Arts Center Box Office. Special rates are available for groups of 15 or more. Performing Arts Center Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The box office may be reached by calling 895-ARTS (2787).
